market not as tough as statistics suggest, says Glass's

Paul McDonald, motorcycle editor at Glass’s Guide, has written an analysis of the latest registration data and comments on current market conditions. He writes:

Looking at the table and graph above, Adventure Sports continue their popularity with a growth of 6.6%, and 1046 machines registered in November 2017 compared with 981 last year. The sector also grew YTD from 1.4% in October to 1.7% in November. It remains the only sector to be ahead YTD. Last month, the Touring and Trail Enduro sectors also enjoyed an increase, while registrations for Sports/Tourers equalled those of 2016. Unfortunately, this did not continue in November for Trail/Enduro and Touring and recorded a downturn of 16.8% and 20.3%. 

It was better news for Sports/Tourers that experienced an increase of 29.3%, with 159 machines registered in November compared with 123 in 2016.  However, as previously stated, these sectors are all sold in relatively few numbers.  For the remaining sectors, the declining trend continued with scooters once again recording the greatest deficit at 32.8%.  Registrations decreased from 2028 down to 1362 and continue to suffer the largest YTD downturn at 29.1%.  The same trend continued for Supersport, too, which suffered another large monthly decline of 29.7%.  Custom machines also reported a large decrease in November at 24.1% behind the same period last year.  Meanwhile, Mopeds experienced a smaller deficit in November being 6% behind 2016.   Overall though, the declining pattern continues.

MCIA Motorcycle Live 2017

The UK motorcycle industry show was staged at the NEC from 18-26 November.  The final attendance was 107,072 motorcycling fans visiting over the nine days.  The show did indeed feel very busy!  There was a great turn out of exhibitors and their stands were all very impressive which helped contribute towards an atmosphere that was buzzing!  As well as a high number of manufacturers there were also plenty of accessory stands which were equally as splendid and much like previous years there was plenty to do.  As usual there were various demonstrations and an indoor show to keep the crowds entertained and the noise from those revving engines and the smell of burning rubber certainly adds to the effect!  There were also plenty of exciting new machines to keep everyone occupied.

Speaking to manufacturers at the show, as expected, the majority held the opinion that 2017 has been a tough year as a result of various factors, namely economic uncertainty and Euro 4 having an impact, particularly on the 125cc market. A number of manufacturers believe that consumer confidence is being affected as a result of economic factors which in turn is encouraging more cautious spending, so it’s inevitable that this has had at least some negative effects on sales this year. 

However, the bigger issue is perhaps the result of Euro 4 leading to reduced model ranges for various manufacturers and supply issues for some, too, not to mention the high amount of pre-registered units in the market hindering new registrations. A number of models were also late to arrive in 2017 which meant they missed the peak season.  Indeed some manufacturers who reported lower sales this year did say that taking into account narrowed product ranges compared to last year, sales in 2017 were actually on a par or even slightly ahead.  However, the majority of manufacturers held the opinion that after taking into consideration all of the effects of Euro 4, the market was still a little down on last year, but in reality it has not been as poor as the statistics have suggested. 

Although economic uncertainty is very likely to continue in 2018, affecting consumer confidence and spending, many manufacturers are optimistic that 2018 will be a more positive year with stronger range line ups.  Many also reported healthy levels of interest in their 2018 models at the show, so the signs are promising at least from this perspective for the new season.  The Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle show that takes place 16 – 18 February should give a good indication as to how the 2018 season may perform.